Place the pastry-lined pie plate on the oven rack. Carefully pour the filling into the pastry shell (don’t overfill if pie tin is too shallow).

Cover edge of the pie with foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes more or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours.

To Make Whoopie Pie Filling: Beat egg white and mix with the milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 cup of the confectioners’ sugar. Mix well then beat in the shortening and the remaining cup of confectioners’ sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.

This is a salad I make over and over and everyone loves it, probably because it kind of tastes like dessert.

Ingredients

Greens (the 50/50 spring mix/spinach mixes work well)

A nice crisp apple chopped up or thinly sliced

Dried cherries

Toasted pecans or walnuts (candied nuts work great too if you have them).

The key is the dressing – sounds crazy but trust me: Whisk together ¼ cup (real!) maple syrup with ¼ cup mayonnaise until smooth. Then whisk in 3 tablespoons of champagne vinegar or white balsamic, then ½ of olive oil plus salt and pepper to taste. This is adapted from a recipe I found in Bon Appetit years ago. If you want to make it more savory you can add sliced shallots and/or crumbles of goat or blue cheese.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and cook 12 to 15 minutes until very tender. Drain sweet potatoes in a colander. Return pan to medium heat. Add butter to the pan. When butter melts, add nuts and toast for 2 minutes. Add sugar and let it bubble. Add bourbon and cook out alcohol, 1 minute. Add orange juice and the cooked sweet potatoes. Smash with a masher and season the sweet potatoes with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

This is the Cranberry Sauce I found to make for our very first Thanksgiving in Florida. It was an instant hit and a must have ever since. Enjoy!

Cranberry Sauce

Recipe courtesy Norma Jean Harden; Spoonbread Catering

Prep Time:10 min Inactive Prep Time:1 min, Cook Time:15 min

Serves – Approximately 2 pints

Ingredients

1 pound (4 cups) fresh cranberries

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 whole orange, unpeeled, seeds removed, and chopped fine

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Sprinkle ground cinnamon

Directions

Wash cranberries and set aside.

Bring sugar and water to a boil. Add cranberries, oranges, and cloves. Simmer over a high flame, stirring frequently, until berries pop open. Add crushed pineapple, walnuts, and cinnamon, and blend. Cool and serve.

It has finally felt like fall around here and the kids are getting in a baking mood. So, I had to share this treat with you.

I have to thank Dave Miller for this next one. Watch out, man in the kitchen, and he knows what he’s doing. This is by far the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had. It has chocolate chips in it. YUMMY!!!!!! I plan on making this one for Thanksgiving breakfast.